Blood
by Skovko
Summary: Brock is enraged that Baron keeps beating him so Paul comes up with the great plan to bring in a woman with certain skills. It turns out that Baron knows a lot more about her than anyone thinks.
1. A vial of blood

"Why won't he go away?" Brock shouted.  
"Calm down, Brock. We'll get to him somehow," Paul tried calming his client down.  
"Don't tell me calm the fuck down, Heyman!" Brock grabbed Paul's shirt.  
"Brock, Brock, it's me. Your friend," Paul said.

Brock let go and they both looked at the monitor as Baron's chuckle reached them. The man was still inside the ring that Brock had just fled from but now holding a microphone.

"And like the coward Brock truly is, he just ran away from me," Baron mocked. "He's fucking scared!"

Paul closed his eyes, knowing this would send Brock into a fit of rage.

"I am not scared!" Brock screamed from the top of his lungs.  
"I got an idea," Paul said. "Let's go see Vince."

Five minutes later they were inside Vince's office.

"Gentlemen, what can I do for you?" Vince asked.  
"Bring in Kendra," Paul answered.  
"She's made it perfectly clear that she'll never help us with anything again," Vince chuckled a bit. "She couldn't handle being used for bad things, as she put it. I told her. Look, little girl, we don't run a candy shop around here and there's no magic unicorns either. That kind of pissed her off."  
"You let me worry about her," Paul smirked. "Just get her here and I'll take care of the rest."  
"You're gonna hurt her, aren't you?" Vince asked.  
"No, I would never," Paul's smirk grew bigger. "I'm gonna make sure she doesn't have a choice."

Vince looked at Brock that had remained silent through it all.

"Brock?" He asked.  
"I wanna kill Baron," Brock said.  
"Get me a vial of Baron's blood too while you're at it," Paul said.  
"I'll get what you need but other than that, I don't wanna hear a word about what's gonna go on. My hands need to be clean. You got that?" Vince stared at Paul.  
"Absolutely, sir," Paul said.

Vince nodded and pointed at the door. The two men got up and left. Vince opened his little, black book and located Kendra's number.

"Vince," she sighed as she answered.  
"Kendra. So good to hear your voice," he said.  
"What do you want?" She asked.  
"I have someone here who wants to work with you," he said.  
"I already told you, I'm done with you," she said.  
"But it's not me this time, Kendra. Someone here asked to bring you in so at least come by and hear what he has to say," he said.  
"Who is it?" She asked.  
"Paul Heyman," he answered.

She let out a low chuckle that quickly increased in volume as she couldn't help but laugh.

"He's even worse than you. At least you were up front with what you wanted. He's a fucking snake," she said.  
"So hear him out and then say no," he said. "What harm is there in that?"  
"Fine, I'll come. When?" She asked.  
"Are you free now?" He asked.  
"I don't drop everything and come running for anybody," she said. "Tell that fucking snake I'll be there tomorrow evening at 7," she said.

Vince left his office to find Baron. The man was easy to find, standing tall with a proud smile on his face for beating down Brock yet again and making the other man run away in fear.

"Baron, I need you," Vince said.  
"What is it?" Baron asked.  
"I need you to go to the health station to get a blood sample taken," Vince answered.  
"Blood? What happened to piss tests?" Baron asked.  
"New rules from the government," Vince lied. "Everyone needs blood taken now since we can track more illegal drugs that way."

Baron didn't know much about how that worked but since Vince was boss, he accepted it and went right away. Vince continued to Brock and Paul's personal locker room and stuck his head inside.

"All set," he said. "Baron's getting his blood taken as we speak and Kendra will be here tomorrow evening at 7. From now on I'm staying out of this."  
"Thank you, sir," Paul said.


	2. Bloodstone

Kendra walked through the arena towards Brock's locker room. She didn't wanna be there and she already knew whatever Paul wanted from her, the answer would be no. There was a satisfaction in telling the man no to his face and that was why she had bothered to come. She raised her hand and knocked on the door. Paul opened with a twisted smile on his face.

"Kendra," he stepped aside. "Come on in."

The door closed behind her and Brock looked up from his spot on the couch.

"Hi witch," he said.  
"I'm not a witch!" She hissed.  
"What are you then? A mage? A sorcerer?" He smirked. "Special?"  
"She's a bloodie," Paul said.  
"A bloodie? What the fuck is that?" Brock asked.  
"She connects with people through their blood," Paul answered. "Isn't that right, Kendra?"

He reached a hand forward and wrapped it around the stone hanging around her neck. He gave it one violent tug and the leather gave way. She looked horrified as the necklace left her and Paul stood with it in his hand.

"Legend says that right after birth you get some of your blood taken and have it melted into a stone that you need to carry with you forever. That you do this so you can punish another bloodie if he or she betrays the rest. If the stone breaks, you'll be in so horrific pain that you'll end up killing yourselves just to make it stop," he said.  
"It's just a story," she said.  
"So you don't mind me breaking it then," he said.

He placed it on the table in front of Brock and grabbed a hammer that had been waiting under the table.

"No, please, don't!" She begged.  
"I knew it!" Paul said triumphantly.

He motioned a finger at Brock and the other man stretched his neck. Paul tied the necklace around Brock's neck.

"What do you want?" She sounded defeated.

Paul held up a vial with blood.

"A little help with Brock's match tonight," he answered.  
"Who is it?" She asked.  
"Baron Corbin," he answered.

She remembered that man. He had gone out of his way to be sweet around her and always sought her out again and again for some unknown reason. Now she was forced to repay his kindness with pain.

"In an hour he's facing Brock again and we're getting tired of him and his tricks," Paul continued.  
"You're getting tired of him beating your sorry ass," she stared at Brock.  
"Fucking witch!" Brock growled.  
"Fine! Give me the blood!" She held out her hand.  
"No, we don't play like that. I know you're gonna empty the entire vial so you'll only have to do it once but I know that one drop is enough each time. You just need to taste him to connect with him," Paul said.  
"You're fucking sick!" She stared at him in shock.  
"And damn proud of it," he smirked.  
"At least tell me you got banana leaves ready too," she said.  
"Of course. I'm not a monster," he said.

An hour later she stared at the monitor in Brock's room as Baron walked down the ramp. Brock followed two minutes later. She looked at Paul as he held out a dagger.

"Remember, Brock has your stone. If anything happens to me, he'll break it," he said.

She took the dagger and watched as he opened the vial of blood.

"Open up," he said.

She felt degraded as she opened her mouth and let him feed her some of Baron's blood. A rush of intimacy and power rushed through her as she felt like she was wrapped in Baron's naked body. The bell ringing made her look back at the monitor, watching as Baron quickly got Brock locked in a corner, raining punch after punch down on the man.

"Kendra!" Paul growled warningly.

She raised the dagger and pressed it into her left hand. She cried out in pain as she pieced her own skin and flesh. It never got easier to do this no matter who the target was. She felt the pain completely. She looked up as Baron screamed and stared at his hand. At least he wouldn't have a hole in his hand or even bleed but he would feel the same pain.

"Good girl," Paul said.  
"I hate you," she cried.  
"I don't mind," he smirked.

The second Brock got the three count and the bell rang, she pulled the knife back out with another loud cry. Paul handed her the banana leaves and she pressed them into the palm of her hand, knowing they would work their magic and heal the wound.

"Can I go?" She asked.  
"Sure, as long as you're back here tomorrow night," he answered.


	3. Help is just around the corner

Baron was still in pain, although it seemed to be slowly going away, as he walked down the corridors in the arena. He turned a corner and stared as someone he remembered all too well came walking towards him. She stopped and stared back, looking so remorseful.

"Kendra," he smiled. "I didn't know you were back here."  
"I'm not. Not really," she said. "How are you?"  
"My hand hurts," he said.

He looked down at her hands, seeing she was pressing some leaves between them. Banana leaves. He knew it without getting a close look at them. He looked around to see the corridor was empty before grabbing her arm and pulling her into the nearest room.

"You did that to me?" He asked.  
"Did what?" She took a step backwards.

He grabbed her hands and tore the banana leaves out of them. There was a small wound left. He shook his head and sighed before putting the leaves back down so she could heal up the rest of the way.

"I thought we were friends. I never thought you would do that to me," he said.  
"Do what?" She asked.  
"Stop it, Kendra!" He demanded. "I know you're a bloodie."

That surprised her since she had never told anybody besides Vince. No one had ever heard of bloodies. That's how they managed to survive and fly under the radar for all these years. No one knew they existed. Up until yesterday she thought only Vince knew but apparently Paul and Brock did too.

"How... How do you know?" She asked.  
"I grew up around a bloodies family. I used to play with the daughter as a kid and you know how kids are. They're not too good at keeping secrets although I kept their secret after she told me," he said. "Her father threatened to use his powers on me if I ever told anybody. That scared the shit out of me even though I now know he never would have."  
"But how did you know I was one too?" She asked.  
"I recognized the stone," he pointed at her neck. "Where is it?"

He looked worried, more worried than he needed to be. Clearly he knew all about what that stone meant to a bloodie.

"Brock has it," she answered. "I didn't want to do that to you, Baron. You're the kindest man I ever met in this arena and probably also outside of it. If you knew all along what I really was, you amaze me even more by all those times you sat down with me. You weren't afraid of me."  
"And I'll never be, not even after what you did tonight. So they're blackmailing you with your stone?" He asked.  
"Yes," she threw her arms around him. "I'm so sorry, Baron."

He wrapped his arms around her too, stroking her dove grey hair and kissing the top of her head. She tilted her head back and he caught those teal blue eyes that were filled with so much pain and ruefulness.

"They're not gonna stop. They got a vial of your blood," she said.

It all made sense now why he suddenly had to have his blood taken the night before.

"I'm gonna help you," he said.  
"How?" She asked.  
"You do whatever you gotta do tomorrow and I'll do the same," he answered. "Trust me, Kendra. I'm gonna get your stone back and get you the fuck out of here before anyone catches you."


	4. Human being

Kendra found herself back with Paul next night, getting Baron's blood in her mouth again and pushing the knife into her left hand again. Baron took another beating and as soon as the bell rang, she pulled out the knife.

"Good girl," Paul handed her some fresh banana leaves.  
"Fuck you, Paul!" She sneered.

She grabbed the leaves, pressed them into her hand and walked out of the locker room. She didn't care to stay a second longer than she had to. She missed that Brock was halfway up the ramp when Baron managed to fight through the pain in his own hand, jump on Brock's back and bite down on the man's neck. It wasn't until Paul came storming past her that she knew something was up.

"Oh my fucking god! Is he trying to eat him?" Someone shouted from a near by room.

She stuck her head inside and looked at the monitor just as a bunch of men pulled Baron away from Brock. Brock was bleeding from his neck. Baron pushed everyone away and stormed up the ramp. She had a feeling where this was going. She turned around, stormed back to Brock's locker room and grabbed the dagger before running towards the way she knew Baron had to come from.

"Baron!" She called out when she saw him.

He didn't say anything. His lips were tight locked together. Instead he grabbed her, pulled her into a toilet and kissed her. She met the kiss with mixed emotions. His tongue against hers felt so good but the blood he had kept in his mouth was pure evil. She felt herself being wrapped in Brock's naked body and it was a dark and twisted place she didn't want to be.

"Hurt him," Baron said. "He can't fight back if you hurt him."  
"Better fucking hurry," she warned him.

His eyes widened as she lifted the dagger and pushed it into her stomach of all places. He spun around and ran like never before. She might be a bloodie but she was also a human and she could die just the same. He ran towards the screams that came from Brock in severe pain. He lied on the floor with a bunch of people around him.

"Move!" Baron pushed some of them away. "Hi Brock."

He gave him a mean smile while closing his hand around the stone around Brock's neck and yanking it off him. He had tried getting his hands on it while hanging on Brock's neck just minutes earlier but of course Brock had managed to protect it. That's why he had chosen to take a good bite out of the other man.

"Kendra says hi," he said.

The painful look in Brock's eyes turned into hate and anger but he couldn't do anything. The pain in his stomach was too strong. Baron ran back to the toilet where she laid on the floor too.

"Kendra!" He fell to his knees. "Fuck!"  
"Pull it out," she whispered.  
"Shit, I'm sorry," he said.

He pulled the dagger out quickly and she screamed in pain. He grabbed the banana leaves on the floor next to her that already had blood on them from her hand.

"Please, tell me they still work," he said.

He pressed them down on her stomach with one hand and grabbed one of her hands with the other. As long as he felt her squeeze his hand, he knew she was still fighting.

"That's it, Kendra. Get angry. Fight it," he said. "Fucking fight it and stay with me."

Her breathing got more normal but she was still in a lot of pain. He moved her hands to hold the banana leaves in place while he lifted her up.

"I'm getting you out of here," he said. "Just like a promised. You just focus on holding them there."

He hurried down the corridors with her in his arms. He gently got her in to lie down in the back seat of his car before jumping into the driver's seat and driving away. He didn't know where to take her so he drove towards his own house. Five minutes before they arrived, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to see she was sitting up. She looked tired as hell but at least she was smiling.

"Thank you," she said. "It's gonna be a rough night but I'm good."  
"You can stay in my house," he offered.  
"I think I have to," she said. "You know, this was my first time stabbing myself like that. I didn't know it would hurt that much."  
"What did you expect?" He chuckled a bit. "You crazy woman."  
"I like that you call me that," she said.  
"What? Crazy?" He laughed.  
"Woman," she said. "Like I'm a human being and not a thing disguised as one."

He drove into his driveway, stopped the car and turned around to look at her.

"You are a human being," he said. "A human being with some special talents but we all have weird talents. I know how to wrestle, you know how to connect with people by blood."  
"You make it sound so normal," she said.  
"No one's normal," he stroked her cheek. "But who wants normal anyway?"  
"And what do you want?" She asked.  
"You, Kendra," he admitted. "Ever since I first saw you."

He laid it out there and it was up to her to either make him happy or sad by whatever she would say next.

"Say something," he pleaded. "What do you want?"  
"I want a shower," she said.  
"Okay, fine, let's get inside," he tried not to show how hurt he was.  
"And I want you to join me inside it," she added. "You know, I might fall. I still feel super lightheaded and I need a pair of strong arms to keep me up."  
"Right!" He laughed and pressed his lips against hers. "I better do my duty as a gentleman then and shower with you. You know, to make sure you're safe and all."  
"You're just as crazy as me," she laughed back.


End file.
